462 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



great beauty in every detail of conformation, without any sacrifice of 

 those qualities which insure durability and creditable performance of 

 the work demanded of a saddle horse. A leading Kentucky breeder 

 presents the points of the typical five-gaited saddle horse in the follow- 

 ing brief paragraph : ^ 



"The typical saddle horse does not differ materially from other 

 light horses in conformation. The characteristics peculiar to the type 

 are a long, clean neck, sloping pasterns and shoulders, withers moder- 

 ately high and narrow, a short and compactly coupled back, smoothly 

 turned quarters, and a well-set, high-carried tail. In action there 

 should be promptness, ease, and precision in going from gait to gait, 

 and abs6lute straightness and evenness in each. The rack should be 

 smooth, swift, and without side motion of the body or legs, the trot 

 should be fast and without offensive flashiness, the canter should be 

 slow with no increasing speed, the flat-footed walk should be springy 

 and reasonably fast, while the running walk, or fox trot, should be 

 easy and comfortable and equal to about five miles an hour." 



Gaits. — In a wild state the natural gaits of the horse were four in 

 number — the walk, trot, pace, and gallop or run. Under domestica- 

 tion these gaits have been variously modified and additions made for 

 saddle purposes. These additions and modifications are largely the 

 result of the selection for breeding purposes of those animals most 

 readily acquiring the desired gaits when trained to them. The gaits 

 desired in the five-gaited type of saddle horse are as follows: 



Walk. — The flat-footed walk should be springy, regular, and 

 reasonably fast. 



Trot.— This is a diagonal gait, the off fore foot and near hind foot 

 striking the ground together, the body being then propelled forward 

 from this support and sustained by the near fore foot and off hind foot. 

 It is a "two-beat" gait. The trot should be fast, with only moderate 

 height of action, extreme knee action being undesirable. Many other- 

 wise excellent saddle horses cannot trot well, "pointing" and coming 

 down on their heels, instead of exhibiting a well-balanced trot. 



The canter is a restrained gallop. It is slower than the gallop and 

 easier to ride. With proper training, the horse easily acquires this 

 gait. It should be slow, with no increasing speed. The canter is not 

 considered perfect until the horse can perform it at a rate no faster 

 than a fast walk. To "canter all day in the shade of an apple tree" is 

 a saying sometimes used to describe the canter of a highly trained 

 saddler that can canter very slowly and in a small circle. A well- 

 trained horse will change lead in the canter, and start with either foot 

 leading, at the will of the rider. 



»Bit and Spur, Sept., 1912, p. 22. 



